Snow and ice covering



A\1g 15 1967 l. K. Elsl-:NBERG 3,335,645

SNOW AND ICE COVERING Filed Jan. l2, 1965 ATTORNEYS United StatesAPatent O 3,335,645 SNOW AND ICE COVERING Isidor K. Eisenberg, 121 YaleTerrace, Linden, NJ. 07036 Filed Jan. 12, 1965, Ser. No. 424,958 3Claims. (Cl. 94--3) The present invention relates to methods and devicesfor providing a frictional surface on ice and snow-covered sidewalks,stairways, paths and the like, to prevent harmful injury to Ipedestriansusing such areas for passage, and to eliminate the need f-or snow andice removal in such areas.

In the prior art, various methods have been employed to remove ice andsnow from walks accommodating pedestrian traffic to prevent injury topersons using such walks and to permit free flow of traliic thereon. Asis wellknown, ice and snow-covered walks and stairs present asignificant danger to pedestrians because of the slippery surfaceproduced thereby, and, when the snow is soft, because of the physicalexertion to older and inrmed persons who may be required to use suchwalks. Generally, such prior art methods involve the physical removal ofthe snow and ice by chopping and shoveling, or by use of salt, sand orchemicals, and other similar means. Shoveling and chopping of the snowand ice obviously involves extereme physical exertion which can, andoften do, result in heart attacks or other less serious physicalailments to the worker, whether young or old. Moreover, there is greatlikelihood of Idamage to walks and brickwork when ice chopping isperformed. The use of salt, sand or chemicals involves somewhat lessphysical exertion because only spreading of the materials is involved,but has other overriding disadvantages and consideratins, such asavailability and cost of the materials: damage to lawns; and retentionof harmful chemicals on the soles of the shoes of the pedestrian wherebythe chemicals are readily carried into the home and deposited on rugs,carpets, iloors, and so forth.

It is accordingly a principal object of the present invention to providemethods and devices which will readily permit the navigation of snow andice-covered walkways by pedestrians in a safe manner, without need forremoval of the snow and ice therefrom.

There are other reasons which will be readily apparent to home ownersand other property owners, for the provision of safe walkways in andabout ones property. First, in many geographical areas local ordinancesprovide for fines and other penalties to be assessed against a propertyowner who fails to provide safe passages for foot traffic on publicwalks immediately adjacent his property, usually within a prescribedperiod of time following a snowfall, Secondly, the presence of ice and/or snow on a private or public walkway in and adjacent -his propertypresents to the owner potential cause for institution of cost-lylitigation by persons who may sustain injury through falls thereon.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, a covering orcarpet is provided which itself provides surface traction forpedestrians when laid upon the snow or ice-covered walkway or stairway.To this end a piece of heavy fabric or cloth, of sufficient length andwidth to accommodate pedestrian traffic in the area in question, isimpregnated with petroleum wax. When the wax-impregnated carpet,hereinafter sometimes referred to as an ice carpet, is placed upon asnow or ice covered walkway or stairway, its subjection to the lowtemperatures under which such conditions obtain causes the waximpregnated therein to become extremely brittle. Any pedestrian trafficwill therefore cause crushing of the wax into numerous extremely smallbits, which, however, Will be substantially retained in and on thefibers of which the 3,335,645 Patented Aug. 15', 1967 fabric iscomposed. The crushing of the brittle wax thereby produces a frictionalsurface which provides safe and sure traction to persons walkingtherealong, without any of the disadvantages which accompany theaforementioned prior art methods for providing safe passageways.

It is, therefore, a further object of the present invention to provide awax-impregnated carpet or covering suitable for covering ice and snow onwalkways and stairways to permit suicient traction for safe traverse Ibypedestrians.

The above and still further objects, features and attendant advantagesof the present invention will become apparent from a consideration `ofthe following detailed description of a specific embodiment thereof,especially when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing inwhich:

FIGURE 1 is aperspective view of an ice carpet in accordance with thepresent invention; and

FIGURE 2 is a cross sectional view of the carpet taken thru 2 2 ofFIGURE l.

Referring now to the drawings, an ice and/-or snow covering or carpet 10in accordance with the present invention comprises a strip of fabric 12,preferably having a coarse fiber texture, such as burlap, of sufficientlength and width for the purposes for which it iis to be used as willhereinafter be more fully described. For purely illustrative purposes,`such fabric may be icut in 24-inch strips, several feet in length,although any physical dimensions appropriate to the area to be coveredmay be employed, as desired. Moreover, several strips of the fabric may,after the processing to which it is tobe subjected, be pinned orstitched together to provide a safety mat or covering of the desiredwidth and length.

In accordance with the present invention, each Vstrip of fabric, orseveral strips simultaneously, is immersed in a vat or other containerof liquied petroleum Wax. To this end, the wax is heated to atemperature sufficient to render it liquied or molten in state prior toimmersion of the fabric therein, so that the wax will impregnate to thefullest extent possible the interior portions and pores of the fabricand will adhere to the fabric fibers.

For :the purposes lwhich have been, and will be more fully discussed,any wax may be employed to produce the ice carpet subject to thelimitations that it is not overly adherent to footwear at .temperaturesin which it is to be employed. Preferably, a petroleum Wax iis employedin the process, such as a fully refined paraffin wax. Essowax 2210, forexample, manufactured and distributed by the Standard Oil Company of NewJersey, has been used with excellent results. Such wax has a ymeltingpoint of approximately 123 F. which permits its ready liquefaction at areasonable temperature although it is hard at room temperature. Asanother example, Essowax 4650, having a melting point of approximatelyF. will also provide very suitable results.

It may also be desired, and is contemplated by the present invention, toadd a gritty substance such as sand to the liquified wax, although thisis not necessary or critical to provision or retention of the qualitiesand proper function of the final covering.

The strips of fabric, with the wax impregnated therein, are withdrawnfrom the vats of heated wax after a period of time suicient to allow thewax to penetrate the interior open areas of the fabric so that itsubstantially adheres fto every piece of fiber therein. The Waximpregnated strips of fabric may then be conveyed in any suitable mannerthrough Wringer-type rollers of the size sufcient to accommodate thestrips without foldover, although this is not critical, to applypressure adequate to remove any excess of wax from the fabric.

In the drawing, the thickness of wax 1S in the final carpet is somewhatexaggerated for purposes of clarity.

It will be understood that even a relatively light wax coating of thefabric fibers may lbe sufficient, depending upon the type of fabric andwax which is used. In general, however, it is desirable that the waxfully impregnate and cover the fabric 12.

Petroleum waxes of the type contemplated for use in coverings or carpetsaccording to the present invention will harden i.e. solidify, at roomtemperature, or approximately 27 degrees C. The wax-impregnated fabricis, in this form, ready for use as an ice and/or snow covering, and maybe packaged in any convenient manner for distribution and sale. Eachstrip of carpet may ybe folded or rolled into a convenient size for thispurpose, or for subsequent storage in home or business use, without anydamage thereto, and without loss of its traction-providing qualities.The completed covering is, moreover, undamaged and undiluted by itsexposure to the elements when in use, and its performance is unaffectedby the depth or amount of snow and ice on which it is placed.

When the ice carpet is rea-dy for use it may readily be unfolded orunrolled and placed in position on top of the snow or ice 18 coveringthe walkway, stairway or other passageway which is to be subjected topedestrian traffic. This is assuming, of course, in the case of snowthat the snow is either packed, or if soft, is not so deep as to permitsubstantial sinking of the carpet into the snow under the weight of theoccupant. At the low temperatures involved, for example 35 F. or less,the impregnated wax will become extremely brittle and will, whensubjected to foot traffic, become crushed, as illustrated at 20, intonumerous extremely small bits and pieces. These small bits of wax willsubstantially adh-ere, however, to the fibers of the fabric. Thecrushing of .the wax in the fabric thus provides the desired surfacetraction for pedestrian traffic without need for removal of the snow orice, and despite the relatively frictionless surface on which the carpetis placed.

It will readily be lunderstood and observed that such an ice and snowcovering will provide the desired functions w'hich have hereinbeforebeen set forth while overcoming the several disadvantages otherwiseattendant to prior art methods. Ice carpets or coverings in accordancewith the present invention may be reused several times over withoutsignificant or substantial loss of their desirable quantities. Thus,such coverings present an economical and simple method for providingpedestrian walkways having sufiicient traction to permit easy navigationthereof. It will also be recognized that coverings in accordance withthe present invention eliminate the time-consuming operation of snowremoval and the generally short-lived effect of such removal.

It is within the scope of this invention for coverings as describedherein to be employed in ice o r snow covered areas of any size whereits qualities of friction and traction are or would be desirable.

The snow carpet or covering need not, when used, be stretched or laid ina taut manner on the snow or ice. Moreover, if, after the carpet hasbeen placed into the desired position on the walkway it is subjected tofreshly falling snow, or to snow and/ or ice `which has `been sweptthereon by wind or otherwise, the carpet need merely be lifted at oneend and shaken to remove the snow or ice accumulating thereon, or tobreak up ice or packed snow thereon. The covering may, of course, vbeplaced on the walkway in advance of any snow or ice accumulation, asadvised by local `weather reports, to facilitate its removal therefromafter the accumulation has occurred. The covering remains completelyiiexible and retains its desirable frictional qualities even under the-most severe low temperature conditions which may normally beencountered during the winter season. The covering may be contrastedfrom the snow by appropriate dying or coloring of the fabric or wax toindicate -a path marker.

While I have described and illustrated one specific ernbodiment of myinvention, it will be apparent that various changes and modifications inthe particular details of construction and function may be resorted =towithout departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention. It istherefore desired that the present invention be limited only by theappended claims.

I claim:

1. A carpet for covering snowand ice-covered walkways or stairways toprovide traction for pedestrian traffic, said carpet comprising fabrichaving a coarse fiber texture, and wax impregnated in said fabric andsubstantially adherent to the fiber thereof, said wax being brittle attemperatures of less than approximately 35 F. and substantiallymaintaining said adherency to said fibers when crushed, and wherein agritty substance is incorporated in said wax.

2. A carpet according to claim 1 wherein said `gritty substance is sand.

3. A material for providing traction for foot traffic on snow and ice,said material comprising a cloth fabric, said cloth fabric impregnatedwith a petroleum wax substantially adherent to the fibers thereof, saidwax being brittle at `temperatures below 35 F. and including grit toenhance said traction.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 89,095 4/1869 Toppan 177-168728,234 5/1903 Hoy-t 117-168 1,286,057 11/1918 Moore 117-168 3,202,3588/1965 Griswold 23S-14 JACOB L. NACKENOFF, Primary Examiner.

1. A CARPET FOR COVERING SNOW- AND ICE-COVERED WALKWAYS OR STAIRWAYS TOPROVIDE TRACTION FOR PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC, SAID CARPET COMPRISING FABRICHAVING A COARSE FIBER TEXTURE, AND WAX IMPREGNATED IN SAID FABRIC ANDSUBSTANTIALLY ADHERENT TO THE FIBER THEREOF, SAID WAX BEING BRITTLE ATTEMPERATURES OF LESS THAN APPROXIMATELY 35*F. AND SUBSTANTIALLYMAINTAINING SAID ADHERENCY TO SAID FIBERS WHEN CRUSHED, AND WHEREIN AGRITTY SUBSTANCE IS INCORPORATED IN SAID WAX.